IU’s Wylie House Museum will give away plant seeds at the Morton C. Bradley Jr. Education Center from 12 to 5 p.m. every Friday of March. Guests can drop by without appointment to collect their choice of flower, herb, vegetable, legume and fruit seeds.
Wylie House’s annual seed project looks a little different this year, but the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t stopped Wylie from bringing seeds to people, according to an IU news brief. The event is usually a one-time sale that typically attracts 200-300 people. The size of the usual crowd could be unsafe this year, which is why Carey Champion, Wylie house director and librarian, decided it would be safer to spread out the event to span four weeks and make it a giveaway, the news brief said.
"The event is educational about the Wylie House, but also about heirloom seeds," Champion said in the brief. "These seeds have historic importance, as well as critical contemporary importance in regard to biodiversity and sustainability."
Champion said all of Wylie’s seeds are grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers.
The Wylie House was built by IU’s first president Andrew Wylie in 1835. Located off campus on 2nd Street, it has since been converted into a museum administered by IU Libraries that preserves collections of family artifacts and photographs, according to the IU libraries website. The Museum is also home to heirloom gardens and an heirloom seed saving program, with seed saving tips available on its seed saving page.
